LITERATURE, AMERICAN, IN 1888. 



473 



reaus, and won general approbation by his 

 energy in improving the efficiency and readi- 

 ness of the military establishment. When the 

 Ollivier ministry was constituted tinder the 

 new parliamentary system, he was invited to 

 retain his portfolio. On March 24 he was 

 made a marshal of France and nominated a 

 senator. Relying on reports from all the bu- 

 reaus, Marshal Leboeuf told the Emperor, when 

 war with Prussia seemed imminent, that the 

 army was perfectly prepared for war in every 

 particular, down to the buttons on the gaiters. 

 When war was declared, he took command of 

 the Army of the Rhine as major-general, and 

 accompanied the Emperor to the field. The 

 reverses at Wissembourg and Woerth revealed 

 a state of disorganization, a lack of necessary 

 materials, gaps in the ranks, and imperfections 

 in the transport and auxiliary services, that 

 surprised and grieved no one so keenly as the 

 ^Minister of War. The Ollivier Cabinet re- 

 signed, and Marshal Leboeuf was compelled to 

 give up his command. He was assigned to a 

 subordinate command under Marshal Bazaine, 

 and was shut up with him in Metz, after fight- 

 ing with desperate valor in the hope of death 

 at Gravelotte and St. Privat. After the sur- 

 render of the fortress of Metz, he was sent to 

 Germany as a prisoner, and when peace was 

 concluded he retired into Switzerland. In De- 

 cember, 1871, he appeared before the commit- 

 tee of the National Assembly that was appoint- 

 ed to investigate the action of the Government 

 of National Defense in signing the treaty of 

 peace. He testified that there were 567,000 

 men under arms at the mobilization, and at- 

 tributed the disastrous issue of the campaign to 

 Bazaine's . unmilitary and disloyal conduct. 

 Thenceforth he lived in retirement. Except- 

 ing Canrobert and MacMahon, he was the last 

 surviving marshal of the French army. 



LITERATI RE, AMERICiX, I> 1888. A review 

 of our literature during the year proves hardly 

 more encouraging than did that of 1887. If 

 possible, even fewer works of worth appeared, 

 while book-production increased largely, reach- 

 ing (from the figures of the " Publishers' Week- 

 ly") 4,631 volumes. Of these, at least, it may 

 be said that 3,520 were produced within our 

 own country, and but 590 from foreign sources, 

 showing a tendency toward greater honesty 

 on the part of native publishers and a develop- 

 ment of fertility in native genius, but the ma- 

 jority were evanescent. It is surprising, in 

 view of the efforts of specialists in some direc- 

 tions, to note the absolute paucity of American 

 works in the higher regions of science and 

 mental philosophy. 



Fittlon. Of this class, 1,284 books, includ- 

 ing juvenile books, produced in 1888, show a 

 marked decrease from the 1,509 of 1887, which 

 may perhaps be accounted for by the reduced 

 issues of cheap libraries. The most widely cir- 

 culated novels were "John Ward, Preacher," 

 by Mrs. Margaret Deland, author of a volume 

 of poems, a book somewhat similar in tone to 



"Robert Elsmere," and "The Quick or the 

 Dead," by Miss Amelie Rives (now Mrs. Chan- 

 ler). The latter has been mercilessly criticised 

 and travestied. Two other works by the same 

 writer, " Virginia of Virginia " and " A Brother 

 to Dragons and other Old-Time Tales," while 

 less extravagant, exhibit the same peculiarities. 

 " Annie Kilburn " was the single production in 

 fiction of William Dean Howells, and, though 

 entertaining, fell below his highest efforts. 

 Henry James, published "The Reverberator" 

 and a volume containing three short stories, 

 entitled " The Aspern Papers," " Louisa Pal- 

 land," and "The Modern Warning." Mrs. Poult- 

 ney Bigelow published "Beautiful Mrs. Thorn- 

 dyke." F. Marion Crawford wrote " With the 

 Immortals," and Frank R. Stockton "The Du- 

 santes," a sequel to " The Casting Away of Mrs. 

 Aleshine and Mrs. Leeks," and "Amos Kil- 

 bright, his Adscititious Experiences, with 

 other Stories." Edgar Saltus appeared with 

 "Eden " and "The Truth About Tristrem Var- 

 ick," and Edgar Fawcett with " Olivia Dela- 

 plaine," " Divided Lives," and " A Man's Will," 

 the last a temperance story. " The Despot of 

 Broomsedge Cove," by Charles Egbert Crad- 

 dock (Miss Murfree), " Bonaventure, a Prose 

 Pastoral of Acadian Louisiana," by George W. 

 Cable, and " The Graysons, a Story of Illinois," 

 by Edward Eggleston, were portrayals of local- 

 ity and of character as influenced by it. "Queen 

 Money," by the author of "Margaret Kent" 

 (Mrs. Ellen W. O. Kirk), is a vigorous protest 

 against one of the most deplorable tendencies 

 of the age, and indicated growth of experience 

 and power. "Better- Time Stories," collected 

 from magazine sources, being the product of 

 earlier days, "Mr. Tangier's Vacations," and 

 "My Friend the Boss, a Story of To-day, 1 ' by 

 Edward Everett Hale, belong of right to the 

 year, and it is impossible to omit mention of a 

 new and illustrated edition of " The Man With- 

 out a Country," first published twenty-five 

 years ago. Another old favorite of the same 

 age, which was revived, was "Two Men." by 

 Elizabeth Stoddard. Bret Harte produced 

 two volumes, "The Argonauts of North Lib- 

 erty," and "A Phyllis of the Sierras" and " A 

 Drift from Red-Wood Camp." The latter two 

 are short stories, of no particular merit. " The 

 World's Verdict," by Mark Hopkins, Jr., w&s 

 the promising first attempt of a new writer of 

 fiction. Arlo Bates wrote a continuation of 

 his "Pagans," entitled "The Philistines," who 

 proved hardly more attractive than their pred- 

 ecessors. E. W. Howe's "A Man Story" was 

 inferior to none of his former work in power, 

 and C. M. Newell made an addition of " The 

 Isle of Palms" to the "Fleetwing Series." 

 " Our Phil and other Stories," by Katharine 

 Floyd Dana, consisted of three clever sketches 

 of negro life; and "Two Little Confederates," 

 by Thomas Nelson Page, author of "Marse 

 Chan and other Stories," is a capital book for 

 boys. Mrs. Frances Hodgson-Burnett's " Sara 

 Crewe" is a companion- piece to "Little Lord 



